I, too
I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,”
Then.
Besides,
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed
I, too, am America.
HUGHES, L. In: RAMPERSAD, A.; ROESSEL, D. (Ed.) The collected poems of Langston
Hughes. New York: Knopf, 1994.
Langston Hughes foi um poeta negro americano que viveu no século XX e escreveu I, too em 1932. No poema, a personagem descreve uma prática racista que provoca nela um sentimento de